The Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn of 40 verses was written by the poet-mystic Sant Tulsidas, in the ancient (and still living) city of Varanasi, also called Kashi. Tulsidas was a devotee of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman, who was himself a devotee of Rama and is considered a reincarnation or avatar of Lord Shiva. Lord Rama is of course immortalized in the great epic Ramayana, one of the longest poems written by Sage Valmiki. And Hanuman is of course most famous through the Sundara Kanda section of Ramayana from Valmiki. Tulsidas’ Hanuman Chalisa is next in fame only to his Ramcharitmanas, the story of Rama. Both these works are written in the Awadhi language in poetry format, quit common in the Hindu devotional genre.

The Hanuman Chalisa consists of chaupai or 40 stanzas, which in Hindi means chalis, thus the chalis in Hanumn Chalisa. Below is the video of Hanuman Chalisa are rendered by the inimitable Ms Subbalakshmi, the nightingale of India, who unfortunately passed away a few years ago. Below those are the 40 stanzas in Hindi Devanagari script, followed by Hindi in transliterated English script, and finally the English meaning of the Hanuman Chalisa. Below that is more information about Sant Tulsidas and Hanuman.

Hanuman Chalisa English Meaning

After purifying the mirror of my mind with the
dust from the lotus feet of my guru, let me
describe the shining, untainted glory of Lord
Hanuman, a member of the Raghu dynasty,
one who is capable of bestowing the four
purusharthas1 on his devotees.

Knowing myself to be ignorant, lacking in
intelligence and wisdom, I remember
Hanumanji, the son of Pavana (the wind
god) and invoke His grace to forcibly remove
all the afflictions of my body and impurities
of my mind and bless me with strength,
wisdom, and discriminative knowledge.

Glory to Lord Hanuman who is the
boundless ocean of knowledge and virtues.
Glory to Lord Hanuman who is the king of
the monkeys and the light of whose fame
illumines the three worlds.

O Lord Hanuman! You are the messenger of
Lord Rama, the abode of incomparable
strength, the son of Anjani, and known also
by the name Pavanasuta (son of wind god).

You are the greatest warrior, possessed of
valor with a body that is as strong as steel.
You have the power to destroy all the
negative tendencies of the mind and You
are the constant companion of those who
are discriminating and wise.

Your complexion has a golden glow and
your appearance is enhanced by your
beautiful clothes, earrings and curly hair.

You have a thunderbolt in one hand and the
flag of Lord Rama in the other. The sacred
thread made of munja grass on your
shoulder adorns you.

You are the incarnation of Lord Siva and the
son of Kesari. The whole world sings the
glories of your shining prowess and valor.

You are possesed of knowledge, great
virtues, a sharp intellect, and are ever eager
to serve the lord of your heart, Rama.

You take great delight in listening to the
glories of Lord Rama, who along with
Mother Sita and Lakshmana have take up
permanent residence in Your heart.

Having reached Lanka, You assumed the
most minute form and appeared before
Mother Sita. With her permission, You then
assumed a huge, fierce form and burnt the
city of Lanka.

In order to accomplish the mission of Lord
Rama, You took a gigantic form and slew
many demons in Lanka.

You brought the sanjivani plant from the
Himalayas, which revived Lakshman thereby
bringing great joy to Lord Rama’s heart.

Lord Rama praised You profusely and said
that You are as dear to Him as Bharat.

“The thousand-headed snake (sheshanaga)
sings Your glories”, thus saying Lord Rama,
the divine consort of Mother Sita, embraced
Hanuman. This also refers to Lakshmana
who is considered an incarnation of shesha.

Your glories are also sung by great sages
like Sanaka and Narada, gods and
goddesses like Brahma and Sarasvati.

Yama, the Lord of Death, Kubera, the god of
wealth, the guardians of the directions, great
poets and scholars have all tried to sing
Your glories, but they have not been able to
do justice.

You obliged Sugriva by introducing him to
Lord Rama who helped him to regain his
kingdom.

Vibhishana became renowned all over the
world as the king of Lanka by heeding your
advice to surrender to Lord Rama.

As a child You leaped up thousands of miles
with ease and swallowed the Sun thinking
him to be a sweet fruit.

Therefore it is not a subject of wonderment
that You flew over and crossed the ocean
with Lord Rama’s ring in Your mouth.

All the tasks of the world, regardless of the
level of difficulty, are accomplished easily by
Your grace.

You guard the entry to Ramji’s palace where
none can enter without Your permission.

All joys are to be found in Your refuge and
with You as the protector there is no cause
for fear.

You alone are capable of controlling the
blazing splendor of Your powers. The three
worlds tremble with fear when they hear
Your thunderous roar.

Ghosts and demons do not dare to come
near when they hear the name of Mahavira
being chanted.

All ailments are destroyed and all pain and
suffering are removed by constant repetition
and rememberance of Your bravery.

You remove all the difficulties of those who
meditate on You in thought, deed and
speech with sincerity and faith.

You were successful in carrying out the
missions of Lord Rama, the supreme
ascetic, who is the ruler of all.

You grant the desires of all seekers by
giving them the fruit of immortal life.

Your glory is renowned in the four yugas
and its glowing radiance shines forth all over
the world.

You are the protector of all who are
righteous, the destroyer of those who are
evil and very dear to Lord Rama.

Mother Sita has granted You the boon of
having the power to grant eight kinds of
suddhis and nine forms of wealth4 to
seekers.

You possess the elixir of devotion to Lord
Rama, and You remain His ever-devoted
servant.

At the time of death such a person will go to
the abode of Lord Rama where he will take
birth as a devotee of the Lord.

One who worships Hanumanji with single-pointed
devotion enjoys all bliss.

All difficulties and sufferings are destroyed
for the devotee who lives in the constant
rememberance of the valiant Lord
Hanuman.

Glory, glory, all glory to Lord Hanuman who
is the master of His organs of perception
and action. Please shower me with Your
grace just like my own guru.

He who recites this Hanuman Chalisa a
hundred times is released from the bondage
of birth and death and enjoys the absolute
bliss of immortality.

Lord Siva Himself bears witness that one
who recites this Hanuman Chalisa regularly
will be successful in accomplishing his goal
of attaining perfection.

Tulasidasji says that he is ever in the service
of the Lord and requests Him to come and
reside in his heart.

O Lord Hanuman, You are destroyer of all
miseries and the very embodiment of all
auspiciousness. O king of the gods! Please
come and dwell in my heart along with
Ramji, Lakshmanji and Sitaji.

Sant Tulsidas: Composer of Hanuman Chalisa

Here’s a beautiful description of Sant Tulsidas’ work in the book by Atkins on Tulsidas and his works.

“When the Purushottama who is the object of worship in the Vedas agreed to be born in this world to go through the sufferings and privations of human life on earth and to destroy the evil forces that had attained dominance, the Vedas also simultaneously came to take shape as the Ramayana of Valmiki. This is the reverential tribute paid by every devout Hindu before he begins the daily reading of the Ramayana of Valmiki:
It may be said without exaggeration that when the study of classical Sanskrit decayed, Valmiki came down among us as Tulsidas in the North and Kamban in the South. Through Tulsidas the Vedas took shape as the Rama-Charita-Manasa. Just as Shri Rama was mare human than Varaha or Narasimha or Vamana, so is Tulsi’s Ramayana is a bhakti-infused avatara of Valmiki’s epic, fitter for the elevation of the mortals of today who, alas, are far down below the level of the rishis that were enraptured to hear Lava and Kusha sing the great epic of Valmiki.

The first verse of the invocation for the daily devotional reading of Ramayana is more applicable to Tulsidas and his Ramayana than even to Valmiki and if we pay this tribute to the spiritual son, it would not be an offence to the father that gave to us the great and elevating epic story of the Prince of Ayodhya:

Who can fail to be elevated in spirit and walk in the straight path to Heaven that has heard the story of Rama ‘as told by Tulsidas and has let the sweet music of it vibrate his inner being?

Tulsidas made his vision of God into a concrete reality for the commonest of men around him. Tulsidas could have made himself as grand or obscure as any philosopher, ancient or modern; for he had learning enough for it, but he was too pious to lose himself in that manner. His great love of the common folk enabled him to produce a work that has stood the test of centuries like a rock among philosophers, pandits and lowly men and women.

Mr Atkins monumental work and his Introduction arc a revelation of hope for those who desire to see all the great religions of mankind come together. Here is a pious citizen of Britain and a Christian who, after having spent as many as ten good years of his life to make the Ramayana of Tulsidas available to English-speaking people for loving study, has crucified as true a bhakta as any among our own people. Although he does not refer to it, his service is not only to English-speaking people but also to that very large number or Hindus In India who do not speak the Hindi language and to whom English has become a very familiar medium. The English rendering of the epic of Rama done by Mr Atkins wilt enable this class of people to be tuned to the great piety that enriches the life of their Hindi-speaking brethren and sisters.

Westerners may find it difficult to reconcile belief in the theory of Maya with that sense of moral responsibility which is essential for right conduct. Human sin under God’s rule is a mystery that truly passeth understanding Any “explanation” is bound to be unsatisfactory, although when one is brought up in that explanation from childhood it may acquire a familiar ring that may pass for logical satisfaction. The Christian doctrine is a mystic blend of man’s free will with the omniscience and omnipotence-‘ of God. The fact is there, sin and the unmistakable desire at the same time to be free from it The Hindu theory of Maya and Karma satisfies the Hindu mind. According to this, man’s sin is a part of the Leela or play of God, but the law of Karma makes the play a dreadful reality, as long as it lasts, and sin cannot be “worked out except through right action which of course includes genuine penitence and prayer. Yet is not easy either for a nation or for an individual to rise again after a fall. It requires much work and much steadiness of purpose and much guidance. But more than work and steady purpose and guidance from outside, the inner being must be spiritualized. It is only then that mutual trust and co-operation and courage become possible and even. easy. / It is the root of the matter. A million people that do not believe one another and therefore do not help one another in true and effective manner cannot produce any result. Man-power does not count when there is no cooperation. Greedy men that do not believe in God and do not trust one another and will not be good except under supervision and except when they cannot evade legal authority will pull in different directions, and the total result of all effort after an infinitude of waste will be but small. Purify the inner being and produce piety and honesty then the effort of each will be added unto every other’s and the harvest will be plenty!} If all men will begin reading Tulsi, they cannot help becoming good again and thereby strong and brave and happy as a people. [May the story of Rama and Sita, the tears of Rama’s great brother Bharata, the devotion of Lakshmana and the perfection of Hanuman inspire and elevate our souls]

Atkins’ Introduction to Hanuman Chalisa

About thirty-five years ago I began to read the Ramayana or the Rama-Charita-Manasa of Tulsidas; it was a task set in connection with the language study and examinations required of a missionary. But I soon became interested m the poem with its moving story, vivid pictures and devout thought; fascinated too with the easy swininmg rhythm and music of the language. I had become somewhat familiar with, this type of language and poetic form by the use of bhajans (religious lyrics) in our regular worship. When I began to study the Ramayana I found great help in understanding and interpreting passages from the prose version of F. S. Growse, first published more than seventy-five years ago. But it was evident that Growse did no more than give, very prosily, the meaning of the passages, and did not at all represent the literary quality and music of Tulsidas. So when, about twelve years ago, the Rev. George Bnggs, D.D., formerly a missionary in India, then a teacher in Drew University) U.S A., suggested that I try to put Tulsidas’s great work into English verse, I was gripped by the idea. Though at first 1 hardly thought it possible, a beginning was made and I soon became keenly interested in it.

I have tried to give varied metres somewhat comparable to those of, Tulsidas, changing as he changes which breaks monotony in reading; also rhyme where he gives it, and language that is clear and simple in verse form. Some friends have seen portions and have encouraged me with commendation notably my wife to whom the whole has been read aloud (knowing her, I can say that her approval is not due merely to the fact that it is her husband’s work; if it were not of value or fitness, she would have said so frankly); also two friends of my early days in India, now retired, whom I have always respected as my gurus, both of them literary-minded and versed in Hindi the Rev. J. Z. Hodge, D.D., and the Rev. P. O. Wynd. It has been a long effort, as usually no more than small portions of time could be spared from ‘a busy life; and since the rhythm and rhyme had to be carefully thought out, it meant that much more time had to be spent over a passage than otherwise often one couplet taking an hour of thinking. Ten years have thus been spent at the work, but I have enjoyed it. Now it is offered to the English-speaking people of India and of other countries in the hope that they will enjoy a literary masterpiece of India, though presented imperfectly and at second-hand, and that through it they will come to understand something more of the background of the faith and thought of a large number of India’s people.
The Ram-Charita-Manasa is much more than the life-story of a great figure in Indian history. Prince (later King) Kamachandra of Avadh or Ayodhya, a kingdom in North India. Tulsidas takes the foundation of his work from the Sanskrit Ramayana of Valmiki, which belongs to a period at least 2,000 years earlier and which tells of this great figure of many centuries earlier still. Already in Valmiki a great deal of mythology is woven round the figures of Rama and Sita, especially in what are commonly regarded as additions to Valmiki’s actual work, but there it is not the figure of a divine incarnation as later understood, holding the earnest, loving religious faith of men as Lord and Deliverer, Tulsidas takes the outline of that story, changes many of the episodes, omits some and adds others, and uses this to express his own loving devotion (bhakti), and his message to men concerning this as fundamental m true religion. He adds much from his own background of theological thought and religious practice, adds also mythological material to strengthen his message and deepen its impression. It is in this that the chief significance of his work lies, so that it is much more than history or biography.

Here one reads the longing and faith of the more earnest and spiritual-minded Hindu, as contrasted with the worldly-minded and godless on the one hand and the formalist or abstruse philosopher on the other. Tulsidas condemns the former in unmistakable terms for their materialism, selfishness and sensualism. He includes the latter in his picture of current Hinduism, and makes some concessions to religious and social ritual as of value, in some cases essential (e.g. veneration of Brahmans and observance of caste rules as religious duty); he also acknowledges the Pantheistic Impersonal teachings of the Hindu philosopher, with the practice of abstraction in contemplation. He especially emphasises the doctrine of Maya (Illusion) as a divine expression and activity, in all material and personal diversity which is delusive and unreal; all things are due to this, specially man’s offences and mistakes with their disastrous consequences. Salvation with him is from the consequences of wrong action resulting in birth after birth, and may be salvation either to the condition of cessation of personal being in the Supreme Impersonal (Brahma), or which is more desirable in his message to a place forever in personal bliss in the Realm of Rama. But all else fades into insignificance before the things of the highest and ultimate value, true devotion in heart and life to the Supreme conceived in Personal Form here Lord Vishnu incarnate as Ramachandra (also named Raghubir, Raghubar, Raghu-pati, head of the family of his ancestor, Raghu of Avadh). With this goes a worthy outlook in moral ideals and religious relationships. All impurity, untruth and jealous enmity are condemned. Tolerance in religious difference and variety is urged, even while presenting Rama as Supreme. It is noteworthy that here is hardly any reference to Krishna, the Lord of the Bhagavad Gita, around whom with incarnation mythology are woven many sensual episodes (by some interpreted as figurative). There are many references to Siva, but it is always with respect and with condemnation of the partisan bitterness that has marked many phases and groups in Hinduism, but is contrary to its true spirit. Tulsidas also shows little respect for the lesser gods of Hindu mythology, especially Indra, greatly revered m Vedic times. He honours formally the Hindu Triad Brahma the Creator (a rather vague figure); Vishnu the Preserver (conceived as incarnate to meet vital emergencies); and Siva the Destroyer (who tells the story of Rama with deep reverence). But all through there is the conception, which Tulsidas uses all his powers to express, that it is the Supreme Spirit who is incarnate in Rama and who claims supreme devotion.

Thus we find expressed sincerely and fervently love for the Supreme and Divine One, the outreach of faith and devotion after some personal concrete form of God m whom faith may rest. The figure laid hold upon by faith inspiring imagination is the ancient hero, an ideal human and royal figure such as one romes across in the dim past of other peoples, e g, Saint George and King Arthur in the early history of England, the king-priest Melchizedek and the idealised David of the Hebrews. But here this figure, Ramachandra, is enshrmed by devout imagination in the faith, love and worship of the heart, as the one making the Supreme Spirit concrete and personal. Moved by love and longing, the heart reaches out to seek God Himself through the figure so enshrined. This movement and experience expresses what in Christian “been to the masses what Tulsidas has heen to the people of this land.” (Edwin Greaves in A Sketch of Hindi Literature.) ‘One most commendable feature of the Ramayana (of Tulsidas) is its pure and lofty moral tone is this feature of his poem which has given it so much value in holding up a high moral ideal before its “readers .Many passages show that Tulsidas was a true observer and lover of nature. The Ramayana is undoubtedly a great poem, worthy to rank among the classical masterpieces of the world’s literature (Tulsidas) knew he would meet with his critics, especially among the Sanskrit pandits, who would affect to despise his work as a concession to the uneducated multitude.

Appreciation for Tulsidas and Hanuman Chalisa

The wonderful acceptance, however, which the poem of Tulsidas has received has been its greatest vindication.” (F. E, Keay in Hindi Literature.)

The Hindi Ramayana js emphatically the book of the common people. To those who would really know the heart of India with all its longings and aspirations, this work will have far more significance than the ancient Sanskrit classics which are unknown to all but the “most learned pandits.” (Author unknown; in a small work on Divine Incarnation.)

“The whole of Tulsidas’s Ramayana is a passionate protest against the virtual atheism of metaphysical Hindu philosophy. Tulsidas insists that they derogate from divine perfection who divest it of personality and reduce it to an abstraction. Professional Sanskrit pandits still affect to despise his work as an unworthy concession to the illiterate masses. With this small and solitary exception, the “book is in every man’s hands from the court to the cottage, and is “read, or heard, and appreciated by every class of the Hindu community, whether high or low, rich or poor, young or old. The purity of its moral sentiments and the absolute avoidance of the slightest “approach to any pruriency of idea.. .render it a singularly unexceptionable text-book.” (F. E. Growse, B.C.S., in the Introduction to his prose translation.)

“The best known and most famed book in Hindi literature. It is ¦known among all classes and no other religious book is so much revered as this. The world now so honours the simplicity, purity and devout worship of Goswamiji that every place where he lived, or even where he “stayed, is honoured as a place of pilgrimage, and a temple or gathering-place has been set up in his revered memory.” (Pandit Vijayanand Tripathi, Banaras, in the Introduction to the version put out by the Bharati Bhandar, Allahabad)

“The fame of Tulsidas as a writer rests wholly upon the Rama Charita-Manasa the crown of the world’s literature. The poetry of this master-poet is unequalled in the Hindi language.” (Shri Ganesh Bihari Misra in a long critical study of Tulsidas, with other Hindi writers, in Hindi Navaratna the Nine Gems of Hindi Literature.)

Mahatma Gandhi on Tulsidas and Hanuman Chalisa

Finally, Mahatma Gandhi has written in The Story of My Experiments With Truth. “What, however, left a deep impression on me was the reading of Ramayana before my father During part of his illness my father was in Porbandar There every evening he used to listen to Ramayana The reader was a great devotee of RamaLadha Maharaj of Bileshvar. I must have been 13 at that time, but I quite remember being enraptured by his reading. That laid the “foundation of my deep devotion to Ramayana. Today I regard the Ramayana of Tulsidas as the greatest book in all devotional literature.”

Such appreciations will, I am sure, amply justify the attempt to give the Ramayana in this form to English readers. The Western reader will find in this work many odd ways of expression, often much extravagance in descriptive and imaginative wnting. There is also much legendary and mythical material, symbolic and interesting. For instance, there is the figure of the monkey-hero and devotee Hanuman (whose simple picture appears on each page of this edition) who performs incredible and monkey-ish feats, but is greatly revered virtually worshipped by many in India, not so much for these feats as for the fact that he embodies humble adoration and devotion to the Lord Rama He and Kakabhusundi (the crow who gladly accepts this form as enabling him to express with supreme humility the lesson he has been taught by hard experience, that devotion to the divine without partisan bitterness is the essence of true religion.

Tulsidas’ Ram Charita Manas

On the human level, the princes Bharat and Lakshman and the low-born boatman, and with the demon prince Vibhishan, are outstanding examples of what the whole poem is trying to express in vivid imagery. On the other hand, there is literary beauty with moral and spiritual worth which a reader even in English may appreciate and find deeply moving as I do. If readers find the first pages, a long introduction by Tulsidas, somewhat tiring at first, I suggest they turn to Book I, chaupai 44 onward (The Conversation of Bharadvaja and Yajnavalkya); but they should certainly come back to the early stanzas, and will be well repaid when they have the spirit and movement of the author with them There is wit and imagination, a clever adapting of pictures to comparison and to moral teaching that is not mere cleverness, but great ability consecrated to a high task. Every now and then there is a couplet or sentence that is like a rapier thrust to the mind and conscience. Underneath the Eastern dress and atmosphere the reader will feel the spirit and nature that make all men akin.

In brief, the story foundation of the poem is as follows: After some interesting preparatory stories from mythology, chiefly showing the need of a divine deliverer on earth, or for the gods, following on the birth of demon Ravan and the establishment of his demon kingdom, the story is given of the birth of Rama and his three brothers as sons of King Dasrath Book I, chaupai 194. As a young man, in a bow-trial at the court of Janak, a neighbouring king, Rama wins Sita as his bride, his brothers also wedding prmcesses of that royal family. They return happily to Avadh. King Dasrath plans to leave the throne to Kama and to end his days in religious retirement; but misled by her maid, Queen Kaikeyi (one of Dasrath’s three wives) demands fulfilment of two boons promised her long before, only now expressed that the kingdom be given to Bharat, her son, and that Rama be banished to life in the forest for fourteen years. Sita accompanies Rama, as does also Lakshman his brother, this tragedy leading to the death of Dasrath. Bharat, devoted to Rama, takes the throne only as deputy for his brother. One day in the forest, while Rama is away and Lakshman is lured off by a false call, Sita is captured by the demon king Ravan; he takes her to his fortress in Lanka (Ceylon) and shuts her up there, trying to win her love. Rama is distraught (Tulsidas says it is but Maya). Eventually with the help of monkey allies, notably Hanuman, he finds out where she is. After a great battle between Rama with his monkey and bear allies on the one hand and Ravan with his demon army on the other, Ravan is killed and Sita is released. The two brothers and Sita return to Avadh at the end of the period, and the joyous prosperity of Rama’s reign is established. There are interesting and vivid episodes and conversations added to all this, notably the conversation at the end between the crow Bhusundi and the eagle Garuda, the former being in that form a supreme devotee of Rama and the other king of birds; in this the true meaning and value of devotion to the Supreme in the form of Rama is expounded.